The present invention is directed to a maintenance and lube service center, and method of use thereof, that enables the drivers or operators of vehicles, such as trucks, buses, and other over-the-road vehicles, to be able to self-service and lubricate their vehicles without requiring an on-site staff of service personnel to perform these services.
It is well recognized by the motoring public that, in order to maintain their vehicles in safe and roadworthy condition, it is advisable and desirable to periodically service and lubricate their vehicles, including to drain oil therefrom and to replace the drained oil with fresh lubricant. This is especially true of large over-the-road vehicles which are utilized for long and demanding transits on a repetitive basis, both by fleet operators and by individual owner/operators. The servicing of such vehicles may be accomplished by employing specific individuals to perform such tasks or by contracting with or utilizing third parties to service such vehicles. The costs associated with such servicing can, especially over a period of time, be substantial, and there may be difficulties in scheduling the servicing and in removing a vehicle from operation for a period of time. It may also be the case that the need for servicing arises at an inconvenient time or location where third party servicing is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain.
Consequently, many vehicles operators, especially individual owner/operators, attempt, on at least some occasions, to self-service their vehicles. Unless they can access a facility at which there are hydraulic or other lifts that they can use, or that have service pits or wells, that allow them access to the underside of their vehicles, the servicing of their vehicles can be a difficult and cumbersome project. Even if they can acquire access to a service facility that has a hydraulic lift and that allows self-service work on a vehicle, they must typically bring their own tools, they may have to acquire their own fresh oil, typically in cans or drums that they may have to transport to the service site, and they have to arrange for the disposal of waste oil and the newly emptied oil cans or drums.
Such servicing of large over-the-road vehicles at the operator""s home is often proscribed or tightly regulated by local zoning ordinances, particularly in urban environments, and relatively few facilities exist that permit the self-servicing of vehicles on-site. Those facilities that do exist may require advance scheduling of the self-service area and, if hydraulic or other types of lifts are to be made available for use, may require that facilities"" personnel be utilized to operate such equipment or that deposits or other compensation arrangements be made or be in place to cover any damages that might occur or any problems that may result. Additionally, such facilities may often not be generally available at the hours that may be most convenient to the vehicle operator.
In essence, to this point in time, the servicing of over-the-road vehicles has been problemsome. The present invention is intended to simplify and make the servicing of large over-the-road vehicles more convenient and less costly, including by enabling vehicle operators to easily effect the self-service lubrication of their vehicles at times convenient to them at facilities designed for such purpose.
With the present system, the driver or other vehicle operator is able to drive his vehicle into a building which serves as a service center and which is equipped with devices that enable the vehicle to be easily serviced and lubricated by him. The center will typically include mobile devices or apparatus positionable and operable by the vehicle operator to raise all or part of the vehicle to a desired elevation for easy access to the underside thereof for maintenance and to lubricate the vehicle such as by removing old lubricant and feeding new lubricant to the vehicle. The present invention includes the features of a novel building or facility into which such vehicles can be driven and which provides the equipment by which the operator of the vehicle, without the need for on-site service personnel, can perform all of the operations necessary to self-servicing of the vehicle, including upgrading the lubricant. By utilizing the present invention, the costs normally associated with servicing and lubricating over-the-road vehicles, particularly during transport, can be substantially reduced, and the availability of the equipment for changing the lubricant permits ready use and operation thereof by a vehicle operator without on-site service staff, thus further reducing the cost of maintaining vehicles, especially large vehicles such as trucks and buses.
The building or facility into which the vehicle is driven will typically include one or more service bays accessible through one or more openings or doorways through which a vehicle can be driven and will include mobile lifting devices and apparatus that will be positionable and operable by the vehicle driver or operator to enable the vehicle or a portion thereof to be raised to a desired height for ready access by him as he performs the servicing and lubricating. The building or facility will generally have storage reservoirs for holding and storing the lubricants that are used, draining apparatus for draining lubricants from the vehicle, and filling apparatus for refilling the vehicle with new lubricant, as required. The building or facility will typically also have provision for an attendant, such as a cashier or like person who will accept money or other forms of credit for the products and services rendered, or an automated attendant system, and may also include other spaces for the convenience of those who may be on the vehicle being serviced but whose actions are not required in the servicing process.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel service center, and the process of use thereof, for self-servicing and lubricating of vehicles such as trucks, buses and other over-the-road vehicles.
Another object is to reduce the costs normally associated with the servicing and lubrication of vehicles, especially large over-the-road vehicles.
A further object of the invention is to facilitate the servicing and lubricating of vehicles, in a convenient, easy-to-use way, and generally without the need for assistance from third parties.
Another object is to make it possible to service and lubricate vehicles at any time desirable to the vehicle operator, including during transit, and without the necessity for outside service personnel.
An additional object is to teach the construction and use of a building where relatively large vehicles can be serviced and lubricated, which building does not require service pits or wells for those doing the servicing and lubricating, and which is therefore less expensive to construct and to operate.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after considering the following detailed specification which describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention.